Tasting - Quinta De Chocapalha Castelao

Name: Quinta De Chocapalha Castelao
Variety of Grape(s): Castelao
Country of Origin: Portugal
Region of Origin: Lisboa
Vintage Year: 2016
Price: $15

I got this bottle in a bunch as a gift from a friend's parents who had them for a long time and were not planning on drinking them. I have no idea how they were stored, or for how long they had them. Please keep that in mind while reading this blog.

Wine Folly describes Castelaos as fruity with flavors of plum, red currant, and strawberries, but with a combination of dried meat and mocha as well. Castelao is a varietal wine of castelao grapes primarily grown in Portugal.

Wine Critic Review: Taylor Brumble on Vivino.com (268 ratings on the site and 1944th highest in the US).

"Reminds me of cherry cola. Tastes like cherry, raspberry, blackberry, black licorice, vanilla, and cinnamon. Oak in the nose. Great value for 14.99."

To the dismay of myself and friends who were excited to try this wine, things seemed off from the moment we *attempted* to uncork the bottle. When we tried to insert the wine key, we found the cork to be very hard and crumbly, making it difficult to insert properly. Once we dug out a bit of the outer section, we were able to get a good enough grip and begin to uncork the bottle. Halfway through the removal, the cork snapped in half and crumbled into bits.

We hoped that despite this apparent issue, the wine itself was still fine. The truth was revealed to us when we got the first whiff of the wine from the bottle. It wasn't awful, but there was a funk to it that reminded us of fertilized dirt or loam. There was also the unmistakable odor of vinegar coming from the bottle as well that told us the wine had spoiled. We decided to taste it anyway and spit it out if it was horrible.

In the glass, nothing appeared off about the wine. It was a deep dark red with minimal particles suspended when shining a light through, and it looked quite appetizing. Besides the off odors, the aroma was very fruity, and I noticed plum and oaky notes.

The flavor was also not horrible. The funkiness was there, and I could tell it was spoiled, but it wasn't sickening. It tasted like red wine vinegar, and was extremely bitter with strong tannins. The other flavors seemed to have long since left the bottle, and it just tasted like funky bad vinegar.

This 2016 Quinta De Chocapalha Castelao gets a 0/5 for this tasting. This was difficult to critically analyze, and it pains me to even call it a wine. If I were to see a fresh bottle of Castelao on the store shelves, I'd be happy to buy it and give it another go, but it will definitely have to overcome this bad memory. Like a regretful lover, I'd love another chance to treat this wine better, but like a disgraced ex, it would take a lot to make up for this awful experience.